Name: Grilled Mahi Mahi with Red Pepper & Cilantro Pesto Recipe
Prep time: 23 min
Cook time: 7 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 roasted red peppers, chopped (how to roast your own peppers); 3 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted; 1 garlic clove, chopped; 1/3 cup chopped cilantro; 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese; 1 1/2 tsp freshly-squeezed lime juice; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/4 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 2 tsp (packed) brown sugar; 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp kosher salt; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1/8 tsp chipotle chile powder; 4 6-oz. mahi mahi fillets; 4 tsp olive oil

Why it works: Pepper and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Almond + olivetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Clove + limetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together909 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, garlic, clove, parmesan cheese, lime, olive, sugar):

Chickpeafits better
Cashew nutfits better
Beansfits better
Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, garlic, clove, parmesan cheese, lime, olive, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Red Pepper & Cilantro Pesto Recipe